Larries

Styles and Tomlinson in 2012

Larries are shipping conspiracy theorists who believe that former One Direction bandmates Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson have a long-term and secret romantic relationship.[1][2][3]: 173–174  An individual fan is called a "Larry" or "Larrie".[4] A fundamental part of this conspiracy theory is that the two, name blended as "Larry Stylinson", have been closeted by their management company, Modest Management, supposedly guided by homophobic corporate interests.[2][5][6] Proponents of the conspiracy theory have used the hashtag #LarryIsReal.[7]

Despite repeated public disavowals, particularly by Tomlinson, belief in the theory has not diminished over time.[8][3]: 219–220  Larries have been one of the largest groups of the One Direction fandom since the band's early days.[3]: 219–220 

  1. ^ McCann, Hannah; Southerton, Clare (1 March 2019). "Repetitions of Desire: Queering the One Direction Fangirl". Girlhood Studies. 12 (1): 49–65. doi:10.3167/ghs.2019.120106. hdl:1959.4/unsworks_62301. S2CID 150794748.
  2. ^ a b Romano, Aja (2016-04-18). "Larry Stylinson, the One Direction conspiracy theory that rules the internet, explained". Vox. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  3. ^ a b c Tiffany, Kaitlyn (2022). Everything I need I get from you: how fangirls created the Internet as we know it. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-53918-4. OCLC 1264273710.
  4. ^ McCann, Hannah; Southerton, Clare (2021-06-01). "Boy crazy, but not in a straight way: The 'truth' about Larry in the One Direction fandom". Journal of Fandom Studies, The. 9 (2): 143–159. doi:10.1386/jfs_00038_1. ISSN 2046-6692.
  5. ^ Southerton, Clare; McCann, Hannah (2019). "Queerbaiting and Real Person Slash: The Case of Larry Stylinson". In Brennan, Joseph (ed.). Queerbaiting and fandom: teasing fans through homoerotic possibilities. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. pp. 161–163. ISBN 9781609386726.
  6. ^ Trinidad, Andrea Anne (2021-11-19), ""Shipping" Larry Stylinson: what makes pairing appealing boys romantic?", The Routledge Companion to Romantic Love, London: Routledge, p. 231, doi:10.4324/9781003022343-18, ISBN 978-1-003-02234-3, S2CID 244450469, retrieved 2022-06-25
  7. ^ "Larry is Real: how One Direction fanfiction is inspiring the London art scene". New Statesman. 2016-02-10. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
  8. ^ Lucas, Jessica (2022-05-10). "Meet the TikTokers obsessed with Harry Styles' 'secret' love life". Input. Retrieved 2022-06-11.